A new ending to my story
by Hmz0975
Summary: Newly divorced Bella leaves on a journey of self discovery only to meet the one who was going to change her entire life giving her a new forever.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is set Post Breaking Dawn, AU and slightly OOC. Also considering this is fan fiction and more or less everything is possible here, I have taken a bit of advantage of the term creative license. I hope you like it.

"Mom, please don't do this" she pleaded, her deep chocolate brown, a perfect replica of my own human eyes brimming with tears "Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme would never ask you to leave the family and you know that. Please don't leave us and go"

As much as I knew that every word of what she had just said was true and no matter how much my already dead heart broke looking at the desolate expression on her face, I knew that I had to do this for my own self more than anyone else.

"Ness" said Jacob worriedly clutching Renesmee's hand tightly in his and wrapping the other of his huge hands warmly around her in an attempt to calm her down "The stress is not good for the baby"

I stared at my daughter as she wiped the tears falling from her eyes, the hiccups of her sobbing temporarily stopping with her maternal instincts kicking in. She put a hand on her slightly showing bump as she looked at me, a silent beg to reconsider.

"I am sorry Nessie" I said earnestly, meaning every word of it "But I need some distance from your father right now. It is not easy for us to be around one another right after the… divorce" I shuddered as I pushed the dreaded new reality of my life out "Some distance will do us good and I promise I will come back very soon. Now what kind of Grandma would I be if I missed this little peanut's birth huh?" I joked playfully though meaning every word what I had just uttered.

"That's perfect" said Nessie with a slight jump of sudden relief, though I knew she was talking about something completely different from what I had just put forward, a typical Nessie thing to do, "You could move in with us in La Push. Our house is big enough and you will be close enough for this little one's birth six months from now. Mom, please" she pleaded with a tear falling down her eyes.

I closed my eyes to avoid the sheer plead that was visible on her face. She was clutching at straws now trying everything possible to make me stay though even her rational mind would have known this that my moving to 'La Push' would be impossible and a threat considered by many of the shape shifter pack as well as the other natives residing there. For starters I was a vampire, their mortal enemy and even though the original treaty had been revoked after Jacob imprinted on Renesmee nearly ten years ago, we, the family never ventured to La Push unless invited or been given special permission by the council like the time when a year back Jacob and Nessie had got married on First beach in a tribal ceremony with it being officiated by Billy or when Sue and Charlie had got married in the Quileute way on Sue's insistence around nine years back in her backyard in La Push.

"Bells" I heard Jacob whisper as I opened my eyes again "We are your family too and we will be there for you in whatever way you need us"

I nodded my head at my best friend of more than a decade. The imprinting between my best friend and my baby had only resulted in us becoming even better friends than before and I knew with full surety that my Renesmee would live a very long and happy life… unlike mine. They were just perfect for one another and once again I was glad that Nessie had Jacob in her forever.

"Nessie baby, I have to do this for my own sanity. I can't be around him and I want to find myself out. I don't even remember who I was before I met your father. I need to get myself back" I tried once again trying to convince her as well as myself of how much I needed this.

She slowly nodded her head after a few minutes of complete silence "But promise me you will keep in touch and you will come back to us very soon"

I nodded my head in agreement as I smiled at my daughter, her husband and their unborn child whose news of coming into the world had come as a pleasant surprise to them nearly a month back and Carlisle who was monitoring Nessie's pregnancy for the obvious reason of her being a hybrid making it impossible for her to go to a normal doctor had said that Nessie's delivery would be at the end of around seven months, much longer than mine but shorter than a normal pregnancy.

The next morning was a heavy one as I bid my family goodbye with lots of hugs and tears that wouldn't fall. They may have originally been my family through Edward and our marriage but even a divorce could not take them away from me. Carlisle and Esme who were the closest I had to parents in this new eternity now that Charlie had succumbed to a heart attack nearly four years back and my mother who knew nothing of my being a vampire and whose face I have not seen in ten years, hugged me tightly assuring me that this was my family and my home too and I was always welcome here while Alice who was my best friend and almost sister refused to even look at me as I left with only one small duffel bag of mine. She was pouting sitting in the corner having decided to silently protest against my decision.

A sad smile enveloped my face at her silly antics. Emmett my brother bear and even Rosalie who had just returned from another one of their honeymoons wished me the best for my journey of self discovery with Rosalie even going as far as telling me that she hoped for me to bring back one hunk of a man on my arm the day I came back as she winked at me making me laugh in this tense environment.

The worst though as I had expected was my daughter who had never lived apart from me for more than a distance of a few miles which could be easily covered with a short run and though she looked to be eighteen having fully matured she was only a ten year old child in actuality who still needed her mother to be there for her to guide her through the ups and downs of life. A feeling of guilt tried making its way in my mind but I pushed it back. Nessie had Jacob now and I knew without a hint of doubt that he would be there for her in whatever way she needed, even if it was like a parental figure whose guidance she required. The imprint made sure of that.

The only person conspicuous by absence was my ex- husband Edward Cullen who I knew and could clearly hear, was in his music room composing a new song on his piano ignoring the thoughts and spoken out words by the rest of the family as they saw me going.

But I also knew that he could not be blamed as I would probably have done the same if he was the one in my shoes today. To say the last few months or even a year had been bad for us would be an understatement. We had quickly gone from forever in love to we can't even stand to be in one another's presence in just a decade of our eternity and it had honestly been coming for a while now.

"I will miss you all" I said turning back once again as I left the security of the front door of the house I had lived in since the day of my marriage followed by my change into a vampire after giving birth to Nessie. Though we had exceeded our stay in Forks Washington by years together because of which neither of us could wander close to town anymore, it was all worth it at the end of the day as neither of us wanted to be away from Nessie who had lived in La Push with Jacob since her seventh birthday, three years ago.

I took into a run in no particular direction as I let my thoughts wander to all what had occurred in these past few years of my bumpy rollercoaster like life.

After the almost battle yet non battle with the Volturi Kings our lives had settled down for probably the first time in years and Edward and I had breathe a sigh of relief with hope in our eyes and huge smiles on our faces expecting 'our forever' to begin. A forever of love and laughs, immortality and perfection and a forever of me and him and the first few weeks had been exactly so. We had gone to our meadow each day and would spend hours there basking in the sun talking or making love to one another only to return in the evenings to our cottage to spend time with Nessie and Jacob who was also now a part of my family. Life was perfect and maybe that was the first sign that everything was going to soon change for worse and so when Jake was called for a meeting with the tribal council a few days later I knew that our first hurdle in my forever was here.

After Jacob had imprinted on hardly an hour old Renesmee, he had been extremely worried and even scared of how his father and the other tribal elders would react. He had been extremely close to Billy growing up with him being the one to take care of Billy after Sarah Black accidently died in a rare case of drowning and the twins had left La Push for their own lives and careers and so the thought of Billy being disappointed of him or rejecting his imprint or imprinting was too hard for him to bear and so when he had told Billy of his imprinting only to get a huff and 'I need to research more on this' in return, he had been clearly disappointed and upset, something which had taken beyond her years wise Renesmee days to cheer him up and so when he had heard of this council meeting a new hope had rejuvenated within him. The hope that maybe his father, the chief was calling him home to accept the imprint, accept his son back with wide open arms and accept the girl who the spirits had chosen to be his future but to his shock and not so much of my surprise it had not been so. The reason for that meeting had been to put forth the condition that Jacob's imprinting would only be accepted by the tribe on the condition that after reaching full maturity at the age of seven, Renesmee and Jake would move to La Push and would stay on tribal lands as was expected from the Alpha's imprint and future chief's wife. They were worried that we would force Jake to leave with us and this imprinting would take Jake away from his tribe and family, something that regretfully could have been possible as the family was planning to move during those days and Jake had agreed to move with us.

Jacob had been furious when he had heard of this and had refused to make this choice on Nessie's behalf but the other option had been worse for him in comparison. If he would have refused to accept, he would be banished from the tribal lands and would never be able to return to see his father or to live in the only place he had known as home on the 'crime' of choosing to live with the enemy. The family though had had conflicting opinions on this. Carlisle, Esme and Jasper had stated that this was Jake and Renesmee's decision and no one else had a right to interfere while Alice, Rosalie and Emmett were firmly against this as they believed that this was a matter of forcing someone more than offering them a choice, well Alice's actual reason was also that Nessie would never get to travel or see the world with us, the family like she would have originally.

The worst fight though had occurred between me and Edward. We had never truly fought before that day as whenever I would protest or try speaking on my displeasure, Edward would dazzle me and get me to agree with him but now that I had been a vampire too, just like him it was just not possible for him to dazzle me any longer. Edward had been livid and had threatened Jake to there and then make the family and Nessie leave as the idea of Renesmee living in La Push, away from him was just not acceptable to him but I, on the other hand could see Jake's silent tears and pain behind his eyes as he had silently nodded accepting to move with us to wherever we went so as to not stay away from his imprint while he buried the pain of living away from his father, his sister and his friends and so the first thing from my mouth had been a loud no when Edward was discussing with the others of where to move next.

Call it a thank you or a penance for all the troubles Jake had undergone for me but this time I had refused to let him suffer in silence. Edward had asked for us to talk in private but I had refused knowing well that he would use one or another of his 'tricks' to convince me that he was correct while I was as always wrong and so in front of the entire family we had fought for possibly the first time with him stating that Renesmee would not live in La Push and if Jake wanted to be with his imprint he would have to move with us and me arguing that this was their decision not ours to make and forcing Jake to move with us would be no better than what his elders had chose to do to him. Finally after a long loud argument with neither of us willing to accept defeat, Carlisle who was the coven leader had stated that there was no use in going around borrowing tomorrow's troubles and so he had decided as the head of the family that the family was to live in Forks till Renesmee was older and mature enough to chose if this was what she wanted from life or if she wanted to travel with us, living with the vampire family of hers instead. A small smile had covered my face as I had seen Jake bury his head in Nessie who was sitting in his lap's hair in relief while Edward, my husband who was sitting on the opposite side of the dinner table had frowned and pouted not ready to accept that he had lost and the family was for once not doing what he had decided and wanted.

The next few days had been heavy to say the least for us as a couple as Edward was upset that I had not taken his side and had tried to guilt me in the same and though a small part of me had felt bad for making him feel so, I had also known that what he had wanted was not something I could have given him if I thought as a mother which I was doing at the moment. If Jacob was not happy neither would Renesmee and I knew this well from the short while I had observed them in.

"Mommy" a loud cheer of giggles pulled me out of my thoughts making me take notice of where my feet had involuntarily stopped. A small boy of no more than six or seven was being cuddled by a woman on the porch of their house and who was leaving wet kisses all over his face making him giggle and attempt to make her stop. Something about this sight had left me fascinated and I just could not move from the coverage of the trees a mile or so away from where I was observing this sight. It was so pure and beautiful to see that my dead heart clenched remembering of Renesmee when she was of that age, for the short period when she had been an innocent child who loved her hugs and butterfly kisses.

"Daddy help" giggled the same voice making me look at the family again just as a man in his early forties appeared out of the house but instead of going and saving the child from the attack of wet kisses, he wrapped his arms around the woman who looked to be his wife and pulled her back into his arms, pulling their child too with her in their embrace of love and belonging.

My eyes widened in that second as I got a clear look of the couple's face and my mouth lay open in shock and disbelief as I clearly recognized who the woman, the child's mother was.

"Renee" I said out loud though I knew that I was too far for her to hear or see me.

Renee, my mother who I was seeing nearly a decade and Phil, a man who had only been kind to me in the short while that I had known him, lay lost in their own world as they both passionately and lovingly kissed with their son saying 'Ew' in a typical child like tone before Phil took the boy's hand and made his way towards a car that was lying in the driveway with Renee sending them flying kisses from her place at the porch till the car was out of sight.

She looked happy. She was glowing, a happiness and a satisfaction that I had never seen on her face before was now clearly visible as she made her way in the house humming a tune I knew well from my childhood days of growing up with her. It was the same tune she hummed in the days when she would put me to sleep or would cuddle me as a child when I would cry saying that there were monsters below the bed. It was the tune of comfort and love and something I had not even known that I had missed before this moment. It was the tune of what I had lost due to my own greed and selfishness and inability to think of tomorrow which had led me to this point in life.

I stood there in shock for I don't know how long, a very unfamiliar sight for a vampire but I had too many thoughts to ponder on in my defense.

Renee and Phil had a child? My half brother… and I had not even known of this though this was probably my fault more than theirs as after my marriage and subsequent change I had cut all ties with Renee and Phil knowing well that they could not be pulled into this world. My mother had tried to stay in touch, the emails and frequent phone calls to Charlie asking of my whereabouts were evidence enough of this but I had never responded letting that one tie from my life go… forever.

My dead heart pained as the thought of Nessie cutting all ties with me entered my mind and for a second I just could not fathom how Renee would have felt because of my decision. At least Charlie had known of the truth till his last day and had been able to be a part of his daughter and granddaughter's life, something that I had greedily snatched from Renee.

I looked around me once again for the first time concentrating on my surroundings and noticed that I was nowhere close to Washington from where I had started my journey. From what I had known last of Renee she had been living in the suburbs of Jacksonville in Florida so was I in Florida of all places?

The thought was unimaginable as though I didn't clearly remember how long it had been since I had left the Cullen house in Forks, it couldn't have been so long right? It had probably been just a day or so… Yeah I was probably just overreacting and maybe just maybe Renee had relocated to Oregon or Idaho, I tried convincing myself much to my failure.

I knew it was possible though as we vampires often lost track of time or days when we ran and I had been too deep into my own thoughts to take notice of the direction but if it was so I hoped that no one had seen me running through the trees. I could not risk the wrath of the Volturi who would not be willing to forgive and especially not to anyone associated with the Cullens if I had unknowingly exposed myself and so my last hope was that no one had seen me or even if they had they would confuse me for an animal gone wild.

I stayed there by the trees for a while just looking at my mother as she made her way through the house doing the daily chores before she grabbed her purse and locked the front door, sitting in another car that was probably hers and making her way out.

I sighed as I looked around me. A part of me felt terrible for doing what I was planning to do. This was not me it argued but I ignored that part as I made my way out of the coverage of the trees towards the open window that I could see on the second floor of the house. It was sunny today and so I had to be extra careful as to not sparkle in front of an unsuspecting passerby even though Renee did not have any neighbors around for me to worry.

I quickly leaped into the open window entering the house, finding that the room I had just broken into was the master bedroom. Renee's clothes, shoes and accessories lay scattered all throughout the room in a mess as I made my way observing each photo frame that proudly stood on the walls of her room. There were photos of her and Phil followed by photos of the three of them in the simple yet surprisingly neat living room, a few photos of my Grandparents Higginbotham and finally one photo of me lay directly next to the antique bookcase. I closed my eyes as I tried to remember the day when this photo had been captured. It was the day before I had left Phoenix for Forks when I had been seventeen. I had been in my room packing my bag trying to neatly fit all of my belongings into that midsize pathetic excuse of a suitcase when out of nowhere Renee had appeared with a camera in her hand and a loud grin on her face and had started clicking photos of me much to my annoyance saying that I would laugh one day on seeing these photos and remembering of these times. It was a remembrance of the good and some not so good times we had shared over the years she had stated before she had gone on to click multiple photos of mine from each angle disregarding my irritation.

A tearful bitter laugh left my mouth as I took my head in the hands on seeing this photo and now thinking of those days when I had been a carefree teenager who had not completely destroyed her life ending up a place from where she had no way out.

What had I done? I had doomed myself to this life even after knowing and being warned by Rosalie and even Edward against it.

It was not so much of the fact that I didn't like being a vampire. Yes, there were benefits to it such as speed, strength, beauty but the negatives outweighed the positives by a huge margin. To live forever was also not easy as after a point of time life became pointless. How many books could one read or how many video games could you play? How much could you shop before monotony too became tedious? After a point it just became a pathetic cycle of repetition. Sure you could study and become something in life like Carlisle had but even then every few years he too had to leave everything, move and start once again from the beginning, never achieving his full potential.

As a family we did try to be innovative and keep ourselves busy and happy but everyone knew and had kept buried in the recesses of their mind that we were not human and never would be. We never aged and never got to experience things that we would have if we would not have been stuck in this cycle of forever living and never changing.

The others though had been pulled into this world without any choice of theirs but I, I had chosen this world and that to for someone who I thought was something else only to end up realizing what a blunder I had made.

My only saving grace was my daughter but I had sadly accepted this fact that she had her own life and would have her family too soon enough and would not need me as much as before as the time would pass which was I guess a reality of life which every parent one day faced though mine came much earlier than others.

I don't know for how long I sat there in the Dwyer's living room dry sobbing but when I heard the sound of a car approaching I knew that it was time for me to leave and so quickly I exited the house just the way as I had entered it, deciding to come back here again every few months to see my mother and half brother go one and live their life. I knew that it could be considered masochistic in a way but then again maybe this was my price to pay for all what I had done so far.

I had hardly gone a few miles when I realized from the low burn in my throat that it was probably time for me to hunt. I had always had an exceptional control of my bloodlust since my newborn period but still I hunted every few days so as to not have any mishaps and I soon found a herd of deer to feed on. I quickly pounced on the slower ones in the herd clenching my thirst and reducing the forever staying burn in my throat to a minimum. Being an animal drinker came with a price as our thirst was never fully clenched and we were at all times one step away from satiated but still it was better that the alternative of killing innocent humans. Carlisle and Esme had been worried when I had first told them of my decision of leaving the family as they had thought I too would rebel and turn to humans like Edward had nearly a century ago but I had assured them that I was content with the animal diet and had no plans of changing any time soon.

I started walking in a chosen direction once again leaving it to fate where my feet led me when suddenly I stopped in my tracks smelling a scent, a scent of a nomadic vampire coming in my direction. If I could smell the vampire so could they and knowing this I quickly put my shield over me as I got ready to face the threat. I had never really faced a nomad before well at least not without Edward by my side and from Jasper's story of his old vampire war days I knew that not every vampire out there was friendly and some were just out there to kill other humans as well as vampires for fun and so I crouched down in an attacking position waiting to see if this was a threat or not, ready to attack in case it was.

I knew that I had been sheltered living with the Cullens since the day I was turned. I had never had a reason to fight for survival after entering this life and even while facing the Volturi I knew that I had my family and the wolves with me but this was different. I was on my own now and if I wanted to survive I would have to be strong and more than that prepared to fight for my own safety.

A familiar looking male with shaggy brown chin length hair and a goatee soon approached me from the other side raising his hands up in a defensive manner when he saw me in a crouch with a sneer on my face, ready to attack him.

"Whoa! I meant no harm. I thought I smelt you, Bella Cullen and so came to investigate"

I let go of my crouch standing straight at my place as I looked at the man I had briefly met nearly a decade ago when he had come to save my daughter against the Volturi. That had been my first and last meeting with him though.

"Garrett what are you doing here?" I asked surprised, my tone conveying the hesitance that I felt on seeing him.

He shrugged with a little amusement showing on his face "I am a nomad. This is what I do but I must say I am surprised to see you here in Florida out of everywhere. It is not a very hot spot for our kind as you know. If you don't mind me asking, where is Edward though? I have never seen you one without the other"

I looked at my feet, a nervous habit I was still to let go of as my hands craved to wrap around my torso but I stopped them. I had chosen this. This was my decision.

"Umm Edward and I are no longer together. We got a divorce" I said keeping my voice strong despite the turbulence going within me.

His eyes widened at that "Oh" "I guess I am sorry" he continued after a minute or two of silence between us.

I nodded my head as I looked at him "I thought you were in Denali with Kate"

He let out an unneeded breath as if this was a heavy topic for him, one that he was still not very used to talking about. I was about to apologize for asking when he answered "I thought so too but I guess we were not on the same page. I wanted more while she was not serious enough and it ended when I caught her in our bed with a human when I came back early from a hunt"

"I am sorry" I mumbled in a whisper. After Irina had been killed by the Volturi, relations between my family and the Denali siblings had never really been the same and though I knew that Rose and Alice did go to visit the sisters at times I was never invited on these visits as the sisters were not very comfortable being around me who they still held partly responsible for Irina's death.

He shrugged once again "Can't say I hadn't seen it coming"

I nodded my head in agreement of knowing the same had been true for my relationship with Edward. Like I said before it had been coming for a while.

"So where are you off to?" I asked curiously

"To tour the world" was his quick answer leaving me in surprise

"What" I asked with my mouth open in shock "Really?"

"I have nothing better to do at the moment and I have seen enough of the country over the centuries so what better than seeing the overseas" he said with a small laugh.

"Wow, well I guess have fun. I should get going" I said albeit a bit awkwardly, as I started to take my first step in another direction only to be stopped by his voice.

"Wait" he said nervously "I could use some company. Do you want to come with me?"

He stared at me in hope and anticipation as I looked back frightened. Could I really do this? Go on a world tour with a man I hardly knew. I had always been the mature one and mature people did not do this… right?

"Such opportunities come only once in a lifetime, Bella" he said after a few minutes noticing my hesitance and reluctance "It is your choice to take or decline"

I closed my eyes as I thought about it. It was true such opportunities came only once in a lifetime and I smiled as Renee's words said so long back entered my mind – When life gives you lemons, take out the salt and the shot-glasses and fill them up with tequila.

"Sure let's do this" I said confidently as I opened my eyes again. It was rash and maybe even senseless but at times you have to be spontaneous and irrational I surmised.

"Great" he said with a grin "I hope you are okay with swimming though" he added after a few minutes almost like it was an afterthought.

Say what?

X-X-X-X-X

_Two months later- _

Garrett was different.

Being around him was easy.

Living as a nomad for so long as he had, he understood when to give space and when to not and that was something I learnt that I really appreciated.

Living as a nomad for me though was a completely different ballgame than the life I had been used to. First and foremost there were no flight travels and hotel bookings. That was the first misconception Garrett had cleared of mine. As nomads everywhere we went we either travelled by foot or swimming if it was overseas and for clothes and other basic necessities…

Well that was something I was still clearly not on board with but once Garrett had said the alternative option to his 'borrowing or more like stealing' scheme was to travel naked, I had quickly agreed to 'borrow' everything that we would need for our day to day travels. Anyways it was not like I had a surplus of money on me to pay for everything or any ID that could get us work. So yeah you work with what you have.

And so far on our world tour that had started a month back, after crossing the North Atlantic Ocean which was freezing even though I could not really feel the cold and feeding on the piked dogfish shark that gave us both mesmerizing dark blue colored eyes, we had reached Copenhagen, Denmark considered to be one of the greenest and cleanest cities in the world. It was a city of happiness and we had taken the canal tour to explore the beautiful city filled with exotic architecture and mesmerizing gardens and Garrett had also achieved the impossible, in my eyes, when he had made me agree to enjoy the nightlife with him, something I didn't think I would ever do making me find out that Whisky could be digested by our kind if not any other drink.

Our next destination on the list had been Norway followed by Sweden and Ireland where we had spent a few days each and had even met the Irish Coven consisting of Siobhan, Liam and Maggie who too were equally surprised to see me divorced and Garrett parted from Kate. They offered us to stay with them in their house while touring Ireland and Maggie had also accompanied us to see the Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland which was a magical tree tunnel and was truly a photographer's paradise with its stunning look.

We had huge smiles on our face as we had left for our next destination United Kingdom where after visiting the Lake District known for its beautiful lakes, mountains and forests and experiencing boating for the first time in life we had reached London to see the Westminster Palace and Madame Tussauds amongst other places that London was so famously known for.

And so here we were currently on a bank of a lesser known lake in the outskirts of London sitting in complete silence beside one another just like we did so often. There was no need to fill the silence when it was just the both of us. We knew that at times the only thing needed from the other was silent support.

"Tell me about your divorce" said Garrett surprising me with his question as this was the first time he had asked me this since we had started our journey. I had expected this question to come much earlier but Garrett had never asked, probably understanding my hesitance.

I sighed as I turned towards the clear calm water in front of me "We were very different people. Something I didn't realize till I was too far gone being married with a daughter. The fact that he was from the twentieth century while I belonged to the twenty first was something that started affecting our relationship later on which I had never thought would occur. His thinking and mine was completely different with him considering my taste in music and movies to be trash and juvenile while his orthodox unable to adapt with time thinking and mannerisms started suffocating me. As the time passed the common topics between us became lesser and lesser and it got to the point where we had nothing to talk about. Yes we loved one another but after a point it was just not enough. Our fights increased as neither of us wanted to leave our point which we thought was correct"

I thought back to the biggest argument that had occurred between me and Edward in my decade long marriage. It had been around three years back when Nessie had come to us, the family saying that she wanted to be in a live in arrangement with Jake before they decided to get married and start their family. Edward had been furious as the idea of his daughter living with a man before marriage was unacceptable to him, no matter that the said man was someone he had known for years and whose mind he could read. He had refused to grant them permission ignoring the fact that they were waiting for our approval and could have easily moved in without the 'permission'. I on the other hand understood where Nessie was coming from as I too would have chosen a route like this if it had not been for Edward's orthodox thinking that had demanded to be married before we got intimate. I had no qualms as such and so while his answer was no, mine had been yes which had resulted in a huge blowup between us which had only ended when Nessie had moved out without Edward's permission.

"Kate wanted an open relationship" said Garrett bringing me out of my thoughts "I tried making her understand that male vampires are extremely possessive of their mates and I would easily kill any man that tried to get close to her but she blamed me for taking away her free will"

"Oh" I whispered not knowing what to say ahead to console him but he just nodded his head in return as if he had never expected an answer in the first place.

"So" he said after an intake of an unnecessary deep breath "Now that the heavy topics are out, where you want to go next? I was thinking of Germany"

X-X-X-X-X

_Four months later- _

"And so after that day Pete refused to ever feed on animals" said Charlotte with a loud laugh as she finished narrating the story of how almost a century back she had tricked Peter into eating a Giraffe whose blood tasted repugnant even to us animal drinkers and was therefore a known fact that Giraffes were out of question.

"I can't believe you did that. That is just cruel" I said with amusement filled disbelief

She shrugged "He claims to be a prankster. He got a taste of his own medicine for once"

"Fair enough" I said with a slight nod "I can't believe the boys missed this though"

"I know right" she shouted in agreement from her place scaring the masseuse that was currently massaging her back as she lied on her back on the beds provided. She apologized to her before turning towards me again "But honestly I can't believe Pete chose some video game over this"

"This is better than any orgasm I have ever had" I said as the masseuse worked her hands on my back making me moan in pleasure.

"Girl you need to get laid properly. That pussy probably ruined the term orgasm for you" she said, her voice filled with seriousness making me laugh and equally roll my eyes at her expression and words.

Four months back if someone had told me that I would be in Dubai out of all the places in the world, in a massage parlor run by vampires and that too with Charlotte Whitlock who I had just met in passing a decade back I would have laughed, refusing to believe them but so far all of this was true no matter how bizarre it sounded.

After all the heavy conversation between me and Garrett had passed, things had become normal and our conversations too were lighter and more fun. We would talk of movies, music, favorite animal, now that he too fed on animals courtesy Kate Denali and our pasts and human lives. He would tell me stories of his human days and in return I would share with him the tales of Emmett and Jasper goofing around. In a short while we had become good friends and this friendship only continued when we toured the majority of the European countries such as Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain, the last being where we found Peter and Charlotte on a vacation that too attending a game of football.

I had only known the couple in passing as Jasper's brother and sister but Garrett had known Peter since decades and their camaraderie was one to see and so the Whitlocks had too joined us on our tour which had now led us to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and so far travelling with them had been amazing. We had gone shopping in the renowned malls of here, visiting spas and salons and had also seen the Burj Khalifa, said to be the tallest tower in the world with Peter joking of jumping from the top to see if the ground would break from the impact, obviously considering we were vampires and nothing would happen to us. And oh we had also gone skydiving over the Scenic Pal Jumeirah which was an adrenaline filled experience in itself.

"So what is going on with you and Garrett?" she asked with curiosity written all over her face

I shrugged in confusion "We are friends"

"Oh come on" she said disbelievingly "Anyone can see that that is not the complete truth. You can tell me. We are friends you know"

I shrugged again "Garrett is my really good friend, Charlotte. That is it"

"Oh my poor dear" she sighed dramatically "You really don't have any idea do you?"

"Any idea of what?" I asked confused

She shook her head giving me a tired look "Garrett is head over heels for you. He holds a candle for you. In other words he is completely smitten by you"

"What" I whispered shocked "You are joking right?"

She shook her head with a small smile "Nope, Pete tells me you are all he talks about when they are alone and he can see that Garrett's eyes glisten with love and admiration when he talks of you. The same love that he sees for me every time he looks into the mirror and I too can see that same bud of love in your eyes when you talk of Garrett but I guess maybe you don't see it yourself, yet"

"That is just not possible" I said taken aback

Love…. I didn't love Garrett. He was a friend, a good friend that is all.

Love was complicated and filled with trials. No I didn't love him. I couldn't love him.

"No" I said aloud "You are wrong. I have just got out of a marriage that quickly went to hell and Garrett too is recovering from a broken heart. There is no place for 'love' or any such thing in my life or in his for that matter. You are just confused and…"

"Sweetie calm down" said Charlotte getting up from the bed, the masseuse leaving the room understanding that we probably required privacy right now.

"I am not telling you to jump him here and now" she continued looking at me like she was seeing my soul "I am just telling you to give him a chance, to give yourself a second chance. Take it at your own pace, however slow that is. Do you know Pete and my relationship only truly flourished after we were out of Maria's death camp? Till then we were just two people who were mutually attracted to one another. After leaving from there we took our time to get to know the other, to understand if we could go beyond liking towards love" she took a minute before she continued again "I was married before I was turned"

I looked at her in shock. I had not known of this. Charlotte never spoke of her past, ever. She would just sit silently when we would talk of ours. I had just assumed that she probably didn't remember, just like Alice.

She nodded her head in understanding "Only Peter and Jasper for that matter know of this. He, my husband George was abusive. He used to beat me up and threaten to kill my younger sister if I protested. I was all she had. How could I let him hurt her?"

"Oh Charlotte" I said sympathetically. No one deserved to go through that.

"The night Jasper turned me, he killed George too seeing how he was going to smash a broken beer bottle on my head. Bella, I cannot tell you how much time it took me and Peter to get past that. How much time it took me to trust him but life does give second chances. You just need to be prepared to grab them"

I nodded my head, a new found respect for Charlotte making its way in my mind.

"I don't know" I whispered shaking my head softly

"Take your time but just don't push him away" she said just as my phone rang with a ringtone that I recognized all too well.

"Mom" said Nessie just as I picked up "Where are you? Why haven't you called?"

"Nessie, I am in Dubai and I am perfectly fine. How are you and Jake and the baby?"

"Dubai?" she shrieked making me put the phone far from my ear at her loud tone "What on earth are you doing in Dubai? When I spoke to you last you were in Paris and why won't you just tell me who you are with. You know I worry about you"

"Nessie calm down" I said with a small smile "Like I said I am perfectly fine and I am traveling with a few other vampire friends. I will tell you everything in detail when we meet"

"You are still coming back right?" she asked, her voice small and slightly dejected

"Of course I am. I told you I will be back at the end of six months and I will be. Now how is my grandbaby?"

"Grandpa thinks it is a girl from the ultrasound though it was not very clear. Jake is on top of the moon with happiness"

"I am so happy for you, baby" I said, the pride and love I felt seeping in through my voice

"Mom" she continued slowly "About Dad… he has been spending a lot of time in Denali these days. He just came back from Alaska last night and Tanya too is here"

I nodded my head with a sigh even though she could not see me "Renesmee Black, you do know that your father has the right to move on right? We are divorced and he can choose to be with another just like I can if I want"

"Do you?" she asked in a whisper

"I don't know" I said truthfully "I need time to think and work on what I want and need from life. I hurried up once I don't want to make the same mistake twice"

"Take your time and whatever your decision will be, I will support you" she said with such maturity in her voice that it surprised me before adding "I love you mom. Take care"

"I love you too and look after yourself" I said before cutting the call and looking back at Charlotte.

"Really?" she asked in derision "He couldn't find anyone better than whore Tanya Denali? Gosh I thought your ex had better taste than that"

"Don't start Charlotte" I said exasperated knowing that bitching or gossiping as she put it, of the Denali sisters was one of Charlotte's favorite activity to do. She hated them, Period.

"But think about it, Bella" said Charlotte changing the topic, talking about Garrett and giving him and myself a second chance.

I nodded my head. I still had two more months to think of it before I would have to take my decision.

X-X-X-X-X

_Six months later- _

It was something akin to a miracle. The evening air was frosty with the sky clear, without any clouds. It was a dancing palette of subtle shades of red and green capering in the night winter sky.

Aurora Borealis or the Northern lights- a beautiful phenomenon in itself had the sky glowing with thousands of seemingly dancing lights illuminating it in a way that I had never seen before.

"Wow" said Garrett pulling my attention towards him "This is something else"

I nodded my head. This was unlike anything I had seen till date.

"What an end to our trip" he said exclamatorily as I thought back to these last two months or the final leg of our world tour. After leaving from Dubai, Peter and Charlotte had parted to go back to their at the moment permanent residence in Canada promising to stay in touch while Garrett and I had continued on our journey to the Himalayas, the home to fourteen of the highest mountains in the world including the Mount Everest, considered to be the highest peak in the world. We had fed on the rare species of animals that called the Himalayas its home while we trekked and camped at such a height cherishing on the stunning view of Sunrises and Sunsets over the snowcapped mountains.

I blushed as a memory of while we were on the Himalayas filtered through my mind. We were admiring the view of the sunrise when Garrett suddenly turned to look at me, his eyes filled with an unknown determination before he took a step ahead making my dead heart beat in nervousness. I had almost thought that he was going to kiss me from the way he was adoringly looking at me but then he had turned to look ahead, almost as if the moment had come and passed.

And the thing that scared me was that I wanted him to kiss me. I was almost ashamed to admit that I wanted that closeness, wanted that excitement and wanted those butterflies of nervousness and newness.

After leaving the Himalayas we had reached China to see the Rainbow Mountains of Zhangye Danxia which showed weathering and erosion at its most beautiful. The sand coloring throughout the mountains was in reds, greens and yellows making it a sight never seen before. The Great Wall of China which was named as one of the Seven Wonders of the World was next on our list before we made our way to this last destination of our tour, Kirovsk, Russia to see the Northern lights. The temperature was freezing, again not like it affected us even a bit but still the view from here was worth living and even dying for.

It was blissfully romantic in its own way too…

It symbolized the magic, the mystery and the unknown of the world.

"So where are you going to go from here?" asked Garrett, an unknown fear evident in his voice

I shrugged "Back home to my daughter and family" "What about you?"

He shook his head with a sad smile "I don't know. I have nowhere to be. Will probably travel some more"

An irrational yet somewhere in my head making complete sense idea made me open my mouth again "Do you want to come with me?"

"To Forks?" he asked

I nodded my head "Yeah… I want to see where this goes if you are willing to"

His smile widened as his eyes glistened with hope "I would like that"

He took my hands in his squeezing them gently. There was no guarantee of what was going to happen tomorrow. All we knew was that we had the chance today. It could turn out to be bad or even better than we could have ever imagined. It was a risk, one that could go either way but then again which decision in life came without its own set of risks.

"So you ready for Forks and an overprotective family than consists of my ex-husband and daughter with a baby on the way, too in tow?" I asked with a nervous grin.

"Another adventure" he asked "Always ready for one of those"

And then the noise of our laughter filled the air as he took me in his arms and kissed me, making me forget everything and everyone except him in that moment.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I do plan to write a second part to this focusing on the Cullens and Edward's reaction to Bella and Garrett but for the moment I am marking this as complete.


	2. Chapter 2

She was coming back.

Finally after a long gap of six months Bella Cullen was returning back to the one place she had called home since the past decade and the family was excitedly waiting for her in the foyer of their glass laden pristine mansion in the outskirts of the small town of Forks.

Esme and Carlisle, her adoptive parents in this newfound eternity of hers were waiting for her with their hands intertwined and a gleam of hope clearly visible on their faces that were currently lit up in happiness. The thought of their daughter returning home was enough to make them smile, especially in the case of Esme Cullen. Having lost a child in her human life she had never truly recovered from that pain and loneliness, no matter how long it had been since or how much Carlisle, her husband of decades had tried to heal her buried deep wounds. Her adoptive children all six of them held the most important place in her heart and merely the thought of either of them leaving her nest was enough to bring out the worry lines on her otherwise flawless face. Even when Emmett and Rosalie, two of her most independent children, would leave on one of their extended honeymoons or would separate from the family to take on the façade of a newly married couple in a separate city or state as theirs, Esme Cullen would note down the days, months and eventually years till they came back to her nest to stay once again with the family. Carlisle would often chuckle and term her as the overprotective mother hen who refused to let her children grow up but Esme would shake her head and tell him that he didn't understand her worries of being left alone by the one she had come to love as her children. Carlisle would then wrap his arms around her and tell her that she would always have him, no matter how the world changed in the next decade or century or even millennium and Esme would just sigh and lean back into his embrace of safety and love where no one judged another.

Even otherwise Carlisle Cullen had always been a firm believer in the notion that everyone came with their own imperfections, fears and worries into this world and so it was not fair to judge another on the basis of that. He also believed that freewill was a choice and everyone had that choice to choose what they wanted from life and so interfering in any of his family member's life was not something he was known to do. It was also no guess that Edward was his favorite when it came to his children. How could he not be? Edward had been Carlisle's oldest companion, brother and best friend before taking on the role of his obedient son and so no one had been surprised to witness the soft spot that Carlisle held for said oldest son. But saying so, Carlisle also held love for his newest daughter who though had joined his family much later, had quickly warmed herself into their hearts. She was stubborn, well equally stubborn as his son and also was known to have her own thinking and so it would be fair to say that unfortunately Carlisle had been one of the first to notice the cracks that was quickly forming in his oldest son and newest daughter's relationship. He was also the first to notice that they rarely if ever were in the same room and if they were, it was never by choice and he was also one of the first to know that Bella had asked Edward for a divorce. He could still remember that exact moment when Edward had knocked on his study's door asking to talk to him in private. The next few words out of Edward's mouth had left him shocked and rendered him incapable of using words to describe what he felt. His daughter had asked for a divorce and even though he had seen all that had happened, he had secretly hoped that their differences would get solved but then again certain bridges can never be mended once there forms a crack in it and relationships are exactly like that.

Supporting Bella's decision to leave the family for a while had never been a tough choice for him to make. He knew well that his daughter needed this in life. The past few years she had only lived for her daughter and now it was high time that she learned to live for herself too. Edward was another story altogether. He had always been too proud of himself to accept his failures and so Carlisle knew well that Edward would take his time to get back to himself and possibly finally move on in the correct direction, letting the past remain where it was meant to be, in the past.

"I can't believe Bella is finally coming back" said Alice excitedly breaking the silence they had all been standing in. Alice Cullen the exuberant, full of energy pixie had held the position of Bella's best friend since the past decade now. Sure she was Edward's sister and confidante too but that had never forced her to change her loyalties towards Bella. Jasper had once told her that when it came to Edward and Bella's arguments Alice would have to stay neutral, not choosing on one side and keeping a rational mind while stating her opinion or she would end up losing either her brother or her best friend and his words had truly been tested when Alice had found out of Bella and Edward's divorce. She had been devastated, almost in the mood of throwing a tantrum of never seen before extent but Jasper, the empath that he had been had kept her calm in those moments, telling her that it was not her place to interfere but when she had found out that Bella was leaving the family all hell had broken loose.

Family was everything for Alice having no memory of her human life and the idea of her perfect family breaking was not one she wished to see. She had refused to talk or even look at Bella in the days before she had left hoping that maybe her 'tantrum' would have the desired effect and Bella would decide to not leave the family and go. Yes, she was assured that Bella would return, she had promised Nessie so but Alice was terrified that even if she returned, her family would never be the same as before. If only she could see past Bella's shield she would have known of this but as Bella had grown older into this existence her shield had strengthened and now Alice could never see in her visions anything that was related to Bella Cullen, no matter how much she wished to see otherwise.

"I know right" said Rosalie in a tone of disbelief, pushing a strand of blonde hair back from where it lay on her face "I love Emmett but if I were to leave on a world tour in said conditions, I would not return for at least a few years or decades. The world is so huge that it would take a while to see it all and why return when you have all the time in the world? Now I am not saying that I didn't miss her but she is a fool for returning only in six months"

"Rose please" said Esme with a shake of the head, pushing her worry of Bella deciding to not stay with the family to the back of her mind. Nothing of that sort was going to happen and her daughter would return back to stay with her.

Rosalie just rolled her eyes as she glanced at her manicured fingernails waiting to see if Bella had taken her advice of moving on and finding herself a man instead of a broody adolescent to heart. Honestly speaking Rosalie had never really liked Edward. He was too much of an immature child in her eyes for him to be likeable and the teenager Bella that they had seen ten years back had been marginally if only better. She had always thought that Bella was equally selfish, childish, egocentric even more than Rosalie so and believed that the world revolved around her and Edward and so in her words Edward and Bella were a match made in heaven but then something had changed. Rosalie's mother Ellen would often tell her growing up that motherhood changed a woman in far more ways than one and Rosalie had come to witness the power in her statement a century later when she had seen Bella 'grow up' after she had Renesmee. Gone was the selfish, only thinking of herself teenager and in her place was a woman who put her daughter's needs and wishes before her own and truly that was when Rosalie had come to accept and like Bella. But unfortunately Fatherhood had done nothing much for Edward. Yes, he did think of his daughter but it was never enough to change his age old thoughts and beliefs. He was still the same old Edward who wished that everyone would accept his ideologies in life, adhering to what he said and Rosalie Hale had never been one to blindly follow another and she had also never been afraid to speak her mind. And if Edward were to listen to her thoughts of how in her opinion leaving Edward was a step towards happiness for Bella, he was free to do so.

"I can't wait to once again defeat Baby sis in videogames and pull her leg for being the clumsiest vampire to exist" said Emmett rubbing his hands together in mischief "Jasper is no fun when he keeps depressing me in case I have won the game like I do always" he continued waggling his eyebrows in mock at Jasper who sent him a wave of intense nausea, only for Emmett to show him the finger in return. Emmett McCarty Cullen was a goofball through and through. He was never if ever serious and believed in only one philosophy in life, life is too long to be depressed about. He was all in all an easy going guy who believed in having fun and also giving people the privacy that they deserved. He never meddled in anyone's life and he was only happy to have his baby sister back in his house, no matter what or who changed. He did not have much memories of his human life as they had faded over time but he truly believed that if he were to have a sister, she would have been just like Bella. She was his baby sis and he was her fun loving, slightly protective brother bear.

Jasper took a sigh as he could feel a headache develop from all the contrasting emotions that he could feel around him. There was some nervousness, some anxiety, some fear and a lot of happiness and also a vibe of disappointment and anger that was coming from the room upstairs that he knew belonged to Edward and where Edward and Tanya were currently sitting, with Edward playing the piano and Tanya seductively observing him. Being an empath was not an easy job and being an empath living in such a huge family was even worse. He could feel Carlisle's worries for his family's well being and his sympathy for the families of the patients he could not save due to him being unable to work any longer in the small town of Forks to keep themselves hidden. He could feel Esme's fears and anxieties and he also knew that she was barely keeping it together at this moment resulting in him sending her a wave of calmness and positivity. Jasper could also feel Emmett's mischief and playfulness which was a huge part of who Emmett was. Yes, he was reliable and understanding too when the situation demanded it and if Jasper were to be honest, he really liked the big lug's company. Being around him was easy as there was no negativity when he was around.

Jasper took a glance at the heavily pregnant Renesmee who was sitting on one of the armchairs placed in the foyer, not being allowed to stand for long due to Carlisle's orders with her being so close to delivery. Jacob was standing by her side with her hand in his as he made circles on her palm in an effort to keep her relaxed and calm but what brought Jasper's attention on them was the fact that Nessie was emitting heavily varied emotions. As expected there was happiness and relief but there was also worry, nervousness and surprise in her mix which left Jasper confused. Why would Nessie be nervous or worried or even surprised in the given situation? It just didn't make sense to him.

"Edward" he asked in his mind knowing well that though his brother had decided to be in his music room, avoiding the reunion that was about to happen, he was listening to their thoughts and was aware of exactly what was happening downstairs "What is Nessie thinking?" he continued mumbling in his mind.

As expected Edward's reply came within a minute in the form of a whisper though why he had whispered was still a question as everyone in the room except Renesmee whose hearing was only slightly better than humans, nowhere in comparison to the other immortals who filled the room, had heard his whispered words "I don't know. She is blocking me. She is currently thinking about baby names from A to Z to keep me out of her head"

Jasper frowned listening to Edward's words ignoring the confusion that he could now feel in the room. Renesmee was hiding someone and now he was sure of that. What was she hiding though, only time would be able to tell.

Jacob Black squeezed his wife's hand once before looking at the empath in the room in question. Being a shape shifter with supernatural hearing abilities he too had heard Edward's whisper and he had no doubt that they had been talking about Renesmee. He too could feel it though that she had been hiding something. Over the past few days she had been giddy with excitement which he had put down to Bella's return, obviously, but under all that excitement there was some apprehension too and that was what had left Jacob surprised as that was unlike Nessie's normal behavior who was always happy and cheerful but he had left it to the fact that she would tell him sooner rather than later, like she always did. His Renesmee was not big on keeping secrets and he always teased her saying that she could not sleep at night peacefully if she was the only one privy of a secret. She just had to tell someone for the peace of her own mind and so he was sure that soon Nessie would come up to him and blurt out whatever she was hiding, again like she always did. The fact that astounded him was that she had hidden whatever she was hiding for this long.

Jacob sighed in satisfaction as a smile coated his face when he thought of the past years and how, after he had imprinted his life had become one big rollercoaster ride. From tribal meetings to warnings of being banished to pressure of being separated from his Nessie who was just an innocent child in those days and finally to be given that one chance to just live alongside his imprint with no worries of tomorrow. To say that his life was perfect would be no exaggeration or wishful thinking. He was a famous mechanic and owned the Wolf pack motors with Quil and Embry alongside, who were still his best friends like they had been since they had all been toddlers. Quil was now the over protective, hawk like older brother to Claire who was a typical teenager, who rebelled on any given instance no matter how ridiculous her cause for rebellion was and Embry, he had ended up marrying Leah Clearwater out of everyone in the big wide world. Neither of them had imprinted but that had not lessened their love for the other and they were now proud parents to a five year old son, Seth James Call, fondly called SJ. On the personal front too Jacob had things going for him. He was married to his imprint that he loved more than his life and they were now expecting their first child, who would be here in this world, in his arms any day now and he could not have been happier.

The only grey cloud in his clear sky was his best friend's troubled marriage which had ended up in a divorce, which truthfully speaking was hard to imagine for Jacob Black. Edward and Bella had been the forever in love type of couple who no one really expected to fall apart and Jacob, after he had imprinted on Renesmee had come to accept that this was all meant to be. Just like he and Nessie were meant to be, so were Edward and Bella and so he had come to accept their relationship with his feelings for Bella changing into a more familial type of bond. She was his best friend and a part of his family, who he looked out for. With Edward though, things were different. They were not enemies fortunately as that would have really hurt Renesmee but they were also not friends. At most they were cordial to the other with each one trying to respect the other's beliefs and values. But saying so, Jacob had never wished for their relationship to fall apart and he was the first to question Bella if she was sure of this when she had told him of her decision. He did not particularly like Edward but that did not mean that he wanted to see his best friend's marriage tear apart but once he had realized that Bella was sure of this and knew that this was exactly what she wanted from life, he had aimed to become her biggest supporter, helping her in whatever way she would need to pass these tough times and now she was coming back after six months and though he had no idea of how things would be from now on, he was sure of one thing, that till Bella had him as a friend she had nothing to worry of.

Renesmee Black or better known as Nessie or Ness in Jacob's case was a bundle of nerves at the moment, barely managing to control her urge of biting her nails in anxiousness. The reason for said anxiety though, was simple, her mother who had specifically called her the previous night informing her that they would finally be arriving today at the Cullen mansion, with the emphasis clearly being on 'they'. When this sudden realization had hit Nessie she had immediately asked who was the other in her mother's 'they', quite not believing that her mother would be bringing back company with her. Now saying so, Bella was not really a pariah but she was also not a social butterfly and Nessie was aware of that. She had always been alone in Phoenix growing up and even after moving to Forks, the only people she was completely comfortable with were Jacob, her aunt Alice and her father. Sure she spoke to the others in the family too but it was not as much as ease, like those three, until she had become like the family herself and so when Bella had stuttered in her words, almost like she had blurted it out by mistake, Renesmee was quick to understand who the 'they' implied too. She was bringing back a man with her, maybe a boyfriend or a possible love interest. Nessie had been quiet for a minute or two before she had squeaked out in excitement at the fact that her mother was making the effort to get past her relationship that was over and was giving herself another chance. She had wanted to run there and then and tell everyone who would listen this news but Bella had stopped her before she would bite everyone's ears off with this latest gossip. According to Bella this was her news to share and it would be unfair for Nessie to blurt it out. Bella should and would be the one to introduce her boyfriend to her family and though she knew that it would be quite a surprise, she was prepared for it and thus Nessie who could never keep a secret was ensured with keeping the biggest secret in her so far immortal life.

"They are here" shouted Alice with a jump in her step as the sound of footsteps approaching the house reached their ears.

"Is she bringing someone with her?" asked Jasper confused at the fact that he could feel the emotional signature of two people instead of one. Obviously the first signature was Bella's, like expected but the other one was also familiar. Every vampire, human or supernatural creature for that matter had an emotional signature that was unique and could be used to identify them, similar to fingerprints or dental records but saying so a person's emotional signature would also change if their emotions too changed over a period of time, unlike fingerprints or dental records and the person who was approaching the mansion with Bella had recently gone through a whirlwind of emotions which had managed to tweak his emotional signature making it difficult for Jasper to identify.

"Not that I know of" whispered Esme in surprise as the scent of another slightly familiar vampire approaching their land invaded their senses.

"Edward, can you read their mind?" asked Carlisle in his head confirming from his oldest son if he knew of who was approaching them. Of course he trusted his youngest daughter to not bring back a threat for the family with her but still as a coven leader it was his duty to make sure that his family was protected and under no threat from nomadic vampires.

"She is shielding whoever is with her", came Edward instant anger filled reply

Though before anyone could say any other word in answer, the front door opened and in walked Bella Cullen with her hand tightly intertwined with Garrett's.

"Mom" squeaked Nessie getting up from her seat with Jacob supporting her as she made her way to where Bella stood, to hug her in a tight embrace as a tear rolled down her eye. Both mother and daughter who had never lived apart from the other for more than a distance of a few miles and had never even gone a day without seeing the other embraced as the mother assured her daughter that she had kept her promise and here she was, while all the questions were diverted towards the man who stood by Bella's side looking nervous and slightly scared of the inquisition that he was sure to face.

"Garrett, what a surprise to see you old friend" said Carlisle with a cough, ignoring the fact that Bella and Garrett were holding hands at the moment.

Garrett nodded his head in answer "Yes it has been a while. A decade to be precise"

"So what brings you here?" asked Carlisle with a small nod

"Umm actually…" Garrett started to answer when he was interrupted by Bella

"Garrett and I are together, Carlisle"

There was pin drop for a minute or two before Rosalie broke the silence with a sigh mumbling 'finally' and Emmett added an excited 'whoop whoop' to that.

"Oh" muttered Alice in a tone filled with hostility "When did this happen?"

It was not like Alice did not like Garrett or she did not want Bella to be happy in life. Her main problem was that she had hope, which now was getting crushed in front of her eyes. Hope is a dangerous thing to keep and Alice was learning the consequences of that firsthand at the moment, as for all this while she had managed to keep a small ray of hope alive in her mind, hope that her brother and sister would soon get back together realizing that they loved one another and their differences could be solved, successfully ignoring the small part of her brain that added that certain differences can never be solved in life and it is better to let them be than to meddle and make it worse.

"Bella and I have been traveling together these past few months" said Garrett answering Alice's question and ignoring the hostility in her tone. He knew that Bella's family was extremely protective of her and there were sure to be some apprehensions, at least from a few members of this family.

"Oh really?" asked Jacob starting the conversation, realizing that nobody else was going to do so "Bells here doesn't tell us anything" he added in a teasing tone "We would love to hear about your travels"

"Yes please come inside" added Esme, once again donning her part of the perfect hostess and inviting Garrett inside their house, giving Bella a quick tight hug on the way in, telling her from her gesture of how much she had missed her.

The bunch of them soon entered the aesthetically designed living room which was adorned with paintings and rare showpieces, some of them even belonging to a completely different era and quickly took their seats on the expensive sofa set with Jasper sitting next to Alice knowing well that his wife would need his calming presence for this conversation that was about to happen. Though before anyone could begin with their questions and answers, two unexpected people entered the room and sat on the sofa directly opposite from Bella and Garrett, much to their shock and resignation at not expecting to see the two.

"Edward, Tanya" said Garrett with a polite nod acknowledging them, ignoring the hatred that he felt for the both of them. Edward because of what Bella had told him in these past few months of how he had treated her and Tanya because of what Kate had done to him, while her sister had just stood by looking, knowing everything but still not telling him a thing in order to save him from all that heartache.

"Garrett" said Edward in a tone that did nothing to hid his dislike for the person "Can't say that I had expected to see you here"

Garrett smiled at Edward's childishness and the scowl he had on his face. He was such a child, who just refused to grow up "Well Eddie" he said knowing well that Edward hated to be called that, stating that it was an immature nickname "Carlisle has always been a friend and you know how it is with us nomads, we travel for years and then come back to visit our friends when we feel like it. I thought you were busy making music upstairs though. I thought I heard a sound" said Garrett knowing well that Edward was a coward who preferred to run when the going got tough and so, he would never face a confrontation if he had the choice not to and Bella had told him this that Edward preferred to just avoid her presence instead of facing her and the inevitable awkwardness that would occur.

"We can't miss guests coming over now, can we?" said Tanya with a fake smile plastered on her face as she sat closer to Edward in a way to show that Edward too had moved on and she too was very much a part of this family, ignoring Rosalie's eye roll at her possessiveness and forced intrusion into their family.

Garrett just smiled, squeezing Bella's hand in return who looked taken aback at Tanya's words and the surety in them. Sure she had expected Edward to move on and find love but she had not known that it would happen this soon. Then again she too had moved on this quickly after the divorce.

"So where all have you been?" asked Emmett excitedly, trying to lessen the tension in the room that was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

Bella quickly started giving them the details of their travels in the past six months and what all they had seen and fed on, in the case of rare animals, all while Garrett looked at her glowing as she spoke, admiring the fact that she was now a part of his life and how glad he was of this simple fact.

Garrett Thomson had been dealt with a hard life as a human and as a vampire once he had been changed. Having been born in the mid-1700 during the American Revolution in New England, he had been a hotheaded patriot who had only known of one thing growing up, he wanted to fight for the colonies right to self govern. He had fought courageously being a true believer in the American dream before he had been bitten during the war by a vampire, who was feeding from him and had unintentionally changed him. Waking up three days later without a sire or anyone to guide him, he had followed his curiosity, treating life as a mystery and had started to understand what had happened to him. Over the course of the years he had made several friends, one of them being Carlisle Cullen who he had met during the Siege of Yorktown and he had also made several enemies, all who were ashes now, though the scars of those fights remained on his body as a proof. And he had also fought every American battle possible, once even coming close to biting Custer, but the natives had killed him before Garrett had the chance. All in all he believed in living life to the fullest and taking things as they came.

But then ten years back everything had changed with one phone call from one of his oldest friends telling him that he needed his help and so Garrett had made his way to this small town in the State of Washington where the Olympic Coven resided to see what the problem was and why Carlisle Cullen, one of the most non violent person in the entire vampire world would need his help. Carlisle was not like Peter or Garrett himself who were always getting into trouble with the other vampires. He was a pacifist through and through and from what Garrett had known, so was his family. That was when he had met Bella Cullen for the first time and had simultaneously found out that it was possible for male vampires to procreate which had been quite a shock to Garrett as he had never imagined of this being possible. They were dead then how could they procreate?

But coming back to the point, his first impression of Bella had not been that great. Yes, she was a good person and all but Garrett always felt that she was being controlled as if someone else was pulling the strings in her case, telling her of what to do and what not to do. He had an obvious doubt that it was Edward who was responsible for that but he had shrugged and ignored it. Who was he to come between a married couple and so, he had invested his energy somewhere else, that somewhere else being Kate Denali.

Now Kate was a free bird, one who was all bark and all bite and Garrett soon found out that he liked the spitfire ability that she contained. It kept him on his toes and with this thought in mind, he had moved to Denali, Alaska to be domesticated by the Denali Coven. The Denali Coven was similar to the Cullens in their nature of feeding but at the same time, they were as different to the Cullens as could be. For one, Eleazer and Carmen were not the parents of Tanya and Kate, the two remaining sisters after Irina had been killed by the Volturi. They were roommates or at most friends who shared the same ideology and so lived together and Garrett had quickly realized this that in their coven it was each one for themselves. But then again he had told himself that how did it matter. He had Kate and that was all that should matter. He would keep her back while she would keep his, like mates do. Only if he had known how wrong he had been in the trusting Kate department. She was a free bird who refused to be tamed.

A smile covered his face thinking of how he had once again met Bella when he was at one of the lowest points of his life. He was a nomad with no place to go to or nobody to be with when he had seen Bella, in Florida out of everywhere and something within him had just forced him to offer her the option of traveling the world with him and he had soon realized that that decision was not one he would ever come to regret. She was a great friend and even better companion and they had travelled parts of the world, laughing, singing, dancing and even going to the local pubs relishing on the whisky that surprisingly their bodies could take in. Yes, she was hurt and was trying to recover but so was he and probably that was what had connected them to one another. They were each other's second chance, a chance that neither of them had expected to be given.

She was so beautiful that Garrett would often lose himself when he looked at her. They way she smiled and freely laughed at one of his poor jokes or the happiness and love in her eyes when she spoke of her daughter or of her family or the pain in her eyes when she spoke of Edward and their failed marriage. Garrett knew that she had suffered and if it would be in his hands, he would make sure that she was never hurt or even upset again.

Peter had called it love but Garrett wasn't sure of that. Yes, he liked Bella. He liked her a lot but did love happen so fast, Garrett wasn't sure of that.

The last conversation that he had had with Bella filtered through his mind, the one they had had just this morning when they were passing through Oregon.

They had been running for hours without stopping when Bella had suddenly stopped midway, deciding to take a break even though they didn't need one, as being vampires they could not get tired. They had sat below the shelter of a tree relishing in the comfort of the silence that the other's company provided.

"Garrett" finally Bella had said "Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm" had been Garrett's answer with a silent nod to continue

"Do you ever think of the future? Like what you want to do or where you want to be a decade or two from now"

Garrett had given her a surprised look before shrugging, having no definite reply to provide her with. Living this long as a nomad, Garrett kept away from the 'future' questions as he knew that there were no fixed answers to those.

Bella sighed as she looked at him "I have been thinking" "I want to go to college and maybe work out on a career. My bloodlust is as good as Carlisle, that I can possibly be around humans for long and Nessie doesn't even need me as much as before"

"What do you plan to study?" he had asked, surprised by her desire to study and become something in her eternity as that was not what many chose in this undead life.

"I am not sure" said Bella with a shake of the head "But that is the thing. I have all the time to find out. It could be journalism or medicine or even law or photography. It could be anything"

"When are you thinking of going?"

Bella was silent as she thought about her answer "A few months after the baby is born and I am reassured that she is growing properly and Nessie is fine. But I don't plan to go very far. Possibly Seattle or even Port Angles to be closer to home"

Garrett had nodded his head in answer, thinking of what this would mean for them when Bella had spoken again, "What about you? Do you plan to go to college or work?"

"I don't know. Maybe not college" Garrett had said "But I wouldn't mind working on my hands, maybe fixing cars, or doing plumbing or electrical work"

Bella had given him a grin "You could talk to Jake about cars. He is a genius when it comes to fixing car parts. Even Rosalie would be of great help"

Moment of truth, Garrett had thought as he had opened his mouth to tell Bella something that had been troubling him since days now. He had been waiting for this opening and now it was here "Bella, I don't want to be mean or uncaring by saying this but…" he had taken a deep unneeded breath "I don't know if I can live as a part of a coven again. The last time with the Denali's was not my best experience and I don't know if I can or want to have a permanent residence or family for that matter. I really like you and I want to give this a try, but being a part of a family is not something I am very sure about, no matter how good they are"

Bella was quiet for a few minutes after hearing his words and Garrett was sure that he had messed up by saying all of this. He knew the rules, whenever a member of a coven wanted to bring in a mate or possible mate, ninety out of hundred times, he or she moved in with the coven. It was rarely ever otherwise.

Finally she had spoken "I understand"

"You do?" he had asked, confused and slightly shocked as such conversations with Kate would always end with him either agreeing to what she said or with her refusing to talk to him for days.

She had nodded her head before speaking "How about this? Before Edward and I moved back into the main house for obvious reasons, we used to live in a cottage a little while from the mansion. After we moved back, Esme had it broken and rebuilt but no one lives there as of now. If you want you can stay there while we see where this goes" she pointed between them both "And if and when I move for college, if you think you want to and if we are comfortable around one another by that point of time, maybe you could move with me with us renting a place there" she completed her sentence nervously looking at her lap, waiting for his answer.

Garrett thought about it for a minute before lifting her chin up and attaching his lips to her in a passionate kiss, deciding that this was probably the best way to answer her question "Has anyone told you before that you are absolutely perfect?" he had murmured still trying to kiss every inch of her face and neck, which for the matter always managed to turn her on, a weakness that Garrett was well aware of and planned of exploiting.

Bella had laughed as she had pulled him closer to her, forgetting everything else in that moment.

Edward Cullen wanted to frown as he looked at his ex wife deeply engrossed in a conversation with his daughter and sisters about shopping in Dubai and how they all should be planning a trip there, apparently a shopping festival had been going on there or something, while her boyfriend sat beside her, lost in thought. Edward wanted to glare at him on reading his thoughts. Bella had not even realized that her shield had fallen off Garrett and now Edward was being able to read every thought of his and let's just say, Edward was not at all impressed by what he could see in Garrett's mind. At the moment he was thinking of Edward's ex wife as she moaned his name again and again while they lost themselves in the throes of passion and while Edward would have liked to attack Garrett and maim him for showing him all of this, even if it was unknowingly, he had stopped, reluctantly. For a simple reason, in whatever memories Garrett had thought about, before he had started on this line, Bella had been happy, happier than he had seen her in years. She was smiling and freely laughing as they stood by the mountains joking of jumping down from there or as they toured the streets of London, behaving as if they were two children who had not a worry of the world and if Edward gave it a thought, he could not even remember when Bella had been this happy last.

He loved her, he still did and he probably always would. Carlisle had told him a while back that a relationship ending does not necessarily mean the end of the love the two people shared between them. It only means that things changed and expressing that love for the other is not as easy as it was before and even though Edward would not like to accept it, he knew that this was the truth and things had changed between them, forever.

Tanya gave him a smile as their eyes met, a silent question asking him if he was okay and he nodded his head. He was getting there.

Edward once again looked at Bella and Garrett as he recognized that they possibly did love one another and he smiled a sad smile. He had always maintained that Bella's happiness was everything to him and now that she was happy, who was he to change his stand.

All he hoped for was that, just like she had got a second chance in life even he would be this lucky in love and life.

A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it.


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